The Lakers’ search for a new head coach seems to be moving forward.
It appears the Los Angeles Lakers have headed into the next stage of their head coaching search.
Over the last few weeks, they have reportedly interviewed several candidates, including some young assistant coaches and a couple of former head coaches who are well-known and well-established.
Now, the number of candidates who the team is considering for the job has been narrowed down.
“Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham and former Portland Trail Blazers head coach Terry Stotts reportedly have advanced to the final round of interviews for the Los Angeles Lakers’ head-coaching job.
“Golden State Warriors assistant coach Kenny Atkinson is reportedly also a finalist for the job.”
Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts are among candidates who've advanced to the final round of interviews for the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching job, sources tell ESPN.
Sources: Finalists for the Los Angeles Lakers head coaching job: Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson and former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts. Next stage of interviews are expected to take place in-person in Los Angeles.
Ham is a young assistant who is reportedly highly regarded as head coaching material around the league and has never been a head coach at the NBA level.
Atkinson and Stotts, on the other hand, have spent several years each as a head coach.
Atkinson led the Brooklyn Nets for four seasons from 2017 to 2020, while Stotts was at the helm for the Portland Trail Blazers from 2013 until last season.
L.A. fired Frank Vogel, who had been its head coach for three seasons, at the end of the regular season last month. Vogel guided the team to the 2020 NBA championship.
Not long after winning an NBA championship, the Los Angeles Lakers are somehow already looking to find a replacement for Frank Vogel.
Not long after winning an NBA championship, the Los Angeles Lakers are somehow already looking to find a replacement for Frank Vogel.
Los Angeles was reportedly moving “deliberately” slow with making a decision because they were waiting to see if either Doc Rivers or Quin Snyder would become available.
Snyder was an assistant coach for the Lakers in 2011-12, but someone who makes just as much sense for the position is former NBA player Darvin Ham, who was also an assistant coach on the Los Angeles staff that same season.
Ham, currently an assistant with the Milwaukee Bucks, should be considered the favorite for the position.
Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and former Trail Blazers coach Terry Stotts are among candidates who've advanced to the final round of interviews for the Los Angeles Lakers’ coaching job, sources tell ESPN.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Ham has advanced to the “final round” of interviews for the position. Ham is also a “serious candidate” to become the head coach of the Hornets, per The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
He was also an early candidate for the Kings job before Mike Brown was hired. The former NBA player was also a candidate for previous openings with the Celtics, Wizards, Magic, Bulls, Clippers, Pacers, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, and his alma mater Texas Tech.
But would he be a good fit for the position? Kevin Durant was recently asked about the most important part of the job for a head coach, and KD said that it was managing personalities.
Asked what an NBA coach does, Kevin Durant says, "managing personalities. I think that's the biggest thing. We all know how to play. We all know all the terminology. We know every single scheme that can be … Managing personalities, I think that their biggest job."
Nowhere would that be more true than in Los Angeles, a team with LeBron James on the roster. But it seems like Ham can handle it (via Yahoo):
“Communication? He knows how to talk to people without being afraid of them,” an executive told Yahoo Sports. Several executives named Ham as a coach to watch during this cycle … “He’s smart. He doesn’t get too high or too low. Players notice that.”
Ham won a championship as a player in 2004, and he now has championship experience as a coach, winning a ring with the Bucks in 2021.
There is little doubt that he is qualified for the gig, and he seems like a good bet to replace Vogel as the head coach of the Purple and Gold.
There may be two leading candidates for the Lakers’ head coaching job right now.
The Los Angeles Lakers have interviewed several candidates for their head coaching vacancy, and as of now, there is no solid indication of who the team is likely to hire.
But according to NBA insider Jovan Buha, L.A. may be leaning towards two candidates right now.
One is a young, up-and-coming assistant coach and the other is an established head coach.
“The Lakers have already been linked to over a dozen candidates for their head-coaching vacancy, but none of them have emerged as a clear front-runner yet. Ham and Terry Stotts are probably the closest to current favorites.”
Early on, it looked like the Lakers would favor someone who has a strong resume and reputation, such as former Golden State Warriors head coach Mark Jackson, the Philadelphia 76ers’ Doc Rivers or current Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder.
But after interviewing several young assistant coaches such as Ham, L.A. may be changing its philosophy as far as what it is looking for in its next bench leader.
General manager Rob Pelinka has implied that the team wants a coach who is a strong leader, and although Ham hasn’t been a head coach yet in the NBA, many around the league feel he does a great job of commanding respect from players.
The Lakers will have some serious competition for Darvin Ham, who is reportedly one of the top candidates for their head coaching job.
Last week, it was reported that the Los Angeles Lakers asked the Milwaukee Bucks for permission to interview Darvin Ham, one of their assistant coaches.
It was a bit of out-of-the-box thinking by the Lakers, who have been accused of sticking too close to their family circle when looking for candidates for head coach and front office jobs.
Ham is certainly an intriguing candidate, as he has served under Mike Budenholzer for four years now and was a part of Milwaukee’s NBA championship squad last year.
But Lakers fans shouldn’t get too excited about the prospect of Ham directing LeBron James and Anthony Davis any time soon, as the Charlotte Hornets reportedly have a strong desire to hire him.
"I'm told two frontrunners for the Hornets head-coaching position are Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and two-time Head Coach of the Year Mike D'Antoni."
Many around the league feel that the Lakers’ head coaching job isn’t an attractive one, given the age of the team’s superstars, the amount of power James appears to have within the organization and the fact that senior basketball adviser Kurt Rambis will reportedly tell whoever takes the job who to hire as his assistants.
Traditionally, a young coach such as Ham would be best served to take a job with a young team like the Hornets that is on the rise, rather than opt for a job with an older team such as L.A. that is hoping to make one last run at a ring.
In 2019, the Lakers considered Darvin Ham a coaching candidate, as they are right now, and LeBron James gave him his OK.
Darvin Ham, a highly regarded assistant under Mike Budenholzer for the Milwaukee Bucks, is reportedly someone the Los Angeles Lakers are considering as a candidate to become their next head coach.
L.A.’s coaching search will be complicated by the fact that anyone it is considering will have to get the buy-in of LeBron James and his agency, Klutch Sports.
In 2019, the last time the Lakers went coach-hunting, they interviewed Ham, and back then he reportedly got the seal of approval from the four-time MVP.
“Back then, the dynamic between the Lakers and Klutch was a bit different, but Ham still reportedly was Klutch Approved™, according to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN, who dropped the nugget during his recent appearance on the Locked on Lakers podcast:
“’I know as a source that he was on the OK list of the LeBron James/Rich Paul (group) last time, that cohort… He is tough, and he is also really smart, and I will tell you this: Mike Budenholzer suffers no fools. He is the pickiest. There are people who find it obnoxious, like either “you’re one of my kind of people, or you’re not, either you get it or you don’t.” He (Ham) gets it! And there is something to be said for that, because look who the graduates are. I think history is treating Kenny Atkinson really well. Quin Snyder. Taylor Jenkins. Need I go on?’
“’And Darvin is a guy who could both mediate, and by the way do some cool things to help shepherd in a new era, because LeBron is not going to be around much longer. And by the way, somebody who will have difficult conversations with [Anthony] Davis.’”
Ham seems like an attractive candidate if the Lakers opt for youth over experience in a coach.
He helped the Bucks win the NBA championship last summer, and in his four years with the team, it has finished with the league’s best record twice.
Ham is a former NBA player who won a ring with the Detroit Pistons in 2004, and he started his coaching career as an assistant with the Lakers in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.
The Hornets’ coaching search has begun with some familiar names as contenders.
The coaching search for the Charlotte Hornets is off and running and some familiar names have serviced as potential candidates.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported on Tuesday that the Hornets’ coaching search has kicked off, including Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, and long-time head coach Mike D’Antoni as candidates.
Out of those four names, two are reportedly in the lead as front runners for the job.
Wojnarowski added that D’Antoni has emerged as a serious candidate for the Hornets job as a partnership with LaMelo Ball is certainly an enticing thought on the offensive end of the floor.
Shams Charania of The Athletic reported similar news regarding D’Antoni’s emergence but added in Milwaukee’s Darvin Ham as a ‘frontrunner’ alongside D’Antoni.
"I'm told two frontrunners for the Hornets head-coaching position are Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham and two-time Head Coach of the Year Mike D'Antoni."
The search for James Borrego’s replacement has begun for Charlotte.
While the second round of the playoffs are ongoing, the Charlotte Hornets have began their head coaching search.
After just four seasons at the helm, James Borrego was relieved of his duties following Charlotte’s loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the play-in tournament.
First reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Hornets are beginning their search, which includes Warriors assistant Kenny Atkinson, Bucks assistant Darvin Ham, Mavericks assistant Sean Sweeney, and long-time head coach Mike D’Antoni.
ESPN Sources: The Charlotte Hornets are beginning to interview candidates for their head coaching job, including Golden State assistant Kenny Atkinson, Milwaukee assistant Darvin Ham, Dallas assistant Sean Sweeney and Mike D'Antoni.
Ham finds himself to be a popular candidate, as he’s already been pinpointed as a potential target for the Los Angeles Lakers. The 10-year NBA veteran has interviewed for numerous openings in the past few years and is due to get his first head coaching job.
Kenny Atkinson helped rebuild the Brooklyn Nets from 2016-20, including a playoff appearance in 2018-19, before Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving arrived, leading to his departure as the franchise chose to go in another direction. He’s now been an assistant for the last two seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors.
Sean Sweeney should quickly become a hot coaching candidate around the league for his part in improving the defense of the Dallas Mavericks alongside head coach Jason Kidd. Sweeney worked on Kidd’s staff while in Milwaukee as well, and worked very closely with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Mike D’Antoni and his offense would be quite the pairing with the Hornets’ young group, led by LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges. D’Antoni last served as an assistant coach for the Brooklyn Nets last season alongside his former player Steve Nash. D’Antoni already has a relationship with Mitch Kupchak, who worked together during their time with the Lakers from 2012-14.
Stay tuned to Lonzo Wire for updates on Charlotte’s coaching search.
Robert Sacre, a backup center for the Lakers several years ago, has a strong idea of who their next head coach should be.
During his four seasons in the NBA, all of which came with the Los Angeles Lakers, Robert Sacre wasn’t exactly an All-Star caliber player.
However, he became somewhat popular among his teammates for his outgoing personality, and he even landed a commercial for Hollywood Suits, a chain of men’s clothing stores in the Greater Los Angeles Area.
Amidst the news that his former team is starting to narrow down its search for its next head coach, Sacre has made his preference clear.
He would like the Lakers to hire a man who was one of his assistant coaches during his time with the squad several years ago.
“Former Los Angeles Lakers center Robert Sacre offered his thoughts about who the team should hire as its new head coach, suggesting current Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham.”
Ham has been an assistant coach for many years now. He started in that capacity in the 2011-12 season for the Lakers, a job he held with them for two years.
After five years with the Atlanta Hawks, Ham joined the Bucks, where he has served under head coach Mike Budenholzer.
Some would say that the Lakers would be best off hiring someone with solid head coaching experience, but if they opt for a newbie, Ham seems to have the respect of Budenholzer and other coaches around the NBA.
L.A. has reportedly asked for permission to interview Ham for their head coaching vacancy.
The Lakers have reportedly added a lesser-known but intriguing candidate to their head coaching search.
With about two months to go before the NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers may not be rushing to fill their head coaching candidacy, but they aren’t getting lazy either.
There have been several people who have been discussed as candidates to succeed Frank Vogel and work with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
Some, such as Quin Snyder, Doc Rivers, Mike Brown and Mark Jackson, have NBA head coaching experience and have guided their teams deep into the playoffs.
There are also some “underdog” candidates who haven’t been a head coach in the pros, such as Juwan Howard, the head coach of the University of Michigan Wolverines, who reportedly wants to remain in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Now, the Lakers have asked for permission to interview one such candidate – Milwaukee Bucks assistant coach Darvin Ham.
Sources: The Lakers have requested permission to interview Milwaukee Bucks assistant Darvin Ham for their head coach opening. Ham served as a Lakers assistant from 2011-13. The team is starting the next stage of the coaching search process.
Ham has been an assistant under Mike Budenholzer for the last four seasons. Last season, the former NBA player helped the Bucks win their first world championship in a half century.
The New York Knicks have parted ways with head coach David Fizdale, leaving an opportunity for someone else to try fixing the franchise.
The New York Knicks have parted ways with head coach David Fizdale, leaving an opportunity for someone else to try fixing the franchise.
You have probably heard the big-name candidates like Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Kenny Smith, especially since they all have big profiles now as regulars on television and have ties to either New York or the Knicks.
There are also the familiar faces who may get consideration and you’ve probably seen them other lists – coaches like Tom Thibodeau, Ty Lue, Jason Kidd, Mike Brown and Mark Woodson.
Other obvious names to consider are assistants Mike Miller (not the one who played in the NBA) and Pat Sullivan, both of whom are current assistants. Miller has been named the interim head coach, so it’s possible that he could take over permanently if he does a great job. New York also has two other assistants (Kaleb Canales and Jud Buechler) who will be asked to step up with Fizdale and former assistant coach Keith Smart gone.
Perhaps no one makes more sense than former NBA All-Star Chauncey Billups, who played for the Knicks in 2011 and has connections to the team’s front office (since he played under current GM Scott Perry in Detroit). However, he has maintained that he is more interested in becoming a front-office executive than coaching.
Regardless, this is a tough job and someone who has ties to their front office in some ways may have an advantage since this is such a crucial hire. Here are some under-the-radar candidates to keep an eye on as the Knicks conduct their coaching search.
Craig Robinson
(Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
Back in April 2018, Frank Isola actually mentioned Knicks executive Craig Robinson as a potential candidate for their head coaching vacancy before they eventually hired Fizdale (via New York Daily News):
“Robinson is another longshot Knicks candidate, according to a team source. The former Oregon State head coach — and brother of former First Lady Michelle Obama — currently serves as the Knicks’ VP of player and organization development.”
Robinson was the head coach at Oregon State from 2008 until 2014. During his playing days at Princeton, he was teammates with Steve Mills — the President of Basketball Operations for the New York Knicks. It is also worth mentioning that former NBA champion coach Dave Blatt was one of their teammates as well, though he is currently dealing with serious health issues.
Becky Hammon
Knicks should ask to interview Becky Hammon for their head coaching position
Becky Hammon was once a fixture at Madison Square Garden, as she played for the New York Liberty from 1999 until 2006. The San Antonio Spurs assistant was once again promoted within the Spurs organization last year and has been a fixture on the sidelines during Summer League games for the team as well. She has received some consideration for other head coaching jobs recently, such as the Milwaukee Bucks’ and Detroit Pistons’ gigs. One of the looming questions for her is how long Gregg Popovich will remain head coach in San Antonio. If he decides to retire soon, she could be in line to take over as the next head coach of the Spurs.
Adrian Griffin
(Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)
While he is currently the lead assistant coach for the defending champion Toronto Raptors, Adrian Griffin could make some sense for the New York Knicks. He attended college in New Jersey at Seton Hall University, where he is in their athletics Hall of Fame. During his final NBA campaign in 2007-08, he played 13 games for the Seattle Supersonics. Scott Perry was the Assistant General Manager for Seattle that season. Then, when Perry was the Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Orlando Magic in 2015-16, Griffin was one of the team’s assistant coaches.
Darvin Ham
(Photo by Gary Dineen/NBAE via Getty Images)
Former NBA champion Darvin Ham played for the Detroit Pistons from 2003 through 2005. During that time, Perry served as the Director of Player Personnel for the organization, so he’s familiar with Ham. Ham has previously been in consideration for head coaching positions with the Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers. We also previously mentioned him as a potential candidate for the head coaching vacancy with the Atlanta Hawks in 2018 before the team went in a different direction.
Chad Forcier
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Milwaukee Bucks assistant Chad Forcier was an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons (2001-03) when Perry was the team’s Director of Player Personnel. He later served as an assistant for the Orlando Magic, including the final year Perry was their assistant general manager (2016-17). He worked directly with Gregg Popovich when he was an assistant with the San Antonio Spurs and has served as a lead assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies. His ties to Perry and coaching experience could make him an interesting candidate to watch.
